World End's Messiah
by gorgeousshutin
Summary: The child to decide mankind's fate is finding the Ends of the World much harder to resist than Instrumentality. Eva/Utena both post series, with Shinji X "Asuka-Akio". Major characters from both shows showing up starting chapter 2
1. Chapter 1

**World End's Messiah**- NGE/SKU, post series both series

All NGE and SKU characters belong to their respective owners.

**Summary: **He felt like he had to strangle her then, because no way should her pale skin be growing dark from right underneath his fingertips.

* * *

It took Ikari Shinji a long time to return to the world; and by then, what he could see was but its' wrecked remains.

Everyone was gone, of course, with the vast sea of LCL splashing against the shore now holding testimony to the dreary state of humanity.

_"Everyone should die."_

Indeed, that was his wish as the epitome of Instrumentality, thus why this outcome . . . no; _Rei_was the epitome; he, he himself was simply the one whose wish she helped realize, out of her sisterly . . . or perhaps, motherly devotion to him.

_"Everything will be alright . . ." _

Head heavy with thoughts of his mother forever disappearing off into space in Unit 01, condemned to an eternity of solitude, Shinji struggled to move his stiff, sore neck as he tried looking around. There was the giant's face, halved in its fall yet still distinctively identical to Rei's. The Mass Production Units now lined the barren landscape in their "crucifix poses", making the entire open space resemble a vast cemetery. There was a crimson gash opened upon the glittery night sky . . . or was it really a trail of stratospheric blood?

Yes, the sun, the moon, and the earth obviously still existed just like his mother had said . . . but what good were they for one left to tread this bleak wasteland alone?

Slackened, his head rolled the other side, thus allowing him to see that he was not really alone.

"Asuka . . ."

It was indeed the pilot of the fallen Unit 02, the fiery devil girl who hurt and surprised him all the time in their other life, back before Instrumentality. With her left eye patched up and her right arm bandaged, she looked very much like how he had imagined she'd look after the Mass Production Units had basically devoured her Eva . . . but wait; in that case, shouldn't the girl be even more . . . maimed than she looked here?

In the distance, framed by Asuka's plugsuit-wrapped curves, was the apparition (just an apparition; not her person, not real) of the uniform-wearing Rei standing upon the LCL sea; her lips were moving, her often vapid expression now urgent, but he heard not a word she tried saying to him . . . nor did he cared, as he knew that this water-standing Rei was no more real than the halved-giant head marring the horizon. Broken, bandaged Asuka . . . she was real.

Willing strength back into his numb limbs, Shinji pushed himself up from the soft, moist sand, and reached out towards Asuka – the only "real" person left to ease his loneliness upon this broken, desolate earth.

"Asuka . . ."

Her un-patched eye opened at the touch of his finger upon her cheek, only to stare through him and up into nothingness. Straddling the girl now, Shinji started lightly slapping the girl, insisting that she face and address him.

"Asuka . . . Asuka! Asuk-"

And just like that, the boy's persistent, nagging words ceased, as he actually found himself stunned into imbecility by what he now saw (that, after all that he had been forced to witness throughout the nightmarish battle and the eerie Instrumentality coming after it).

It all started with Asuka's one revealed eye – originally blue as sapphire, it suddenly started changing shades. At first, Shinji thought it was a merely trick of the light, before he saw how her hair and skin was starting to change too.

One of the very first impressions Asuka had made on Shinji was that offensive rudeness aside, she truly was an extraordinarily beautiful girl. Having a mix of Caucasian and Asian genes, the girl possessed red tresses and fair complexion that made her positively stood out here in Tokyo-3.

Those red tresses now were quickly lightening up into platinum pink, as her once fair complexion came to deepen like cocoa-stained milk . . .

Driven past reason, past sanity, the boy let out a gurgling sound from within his dry throat; body moving before coherent thoughts did, he found his hands already clasped around that chocolate-brown throat, as he then clamped down with the desperate violence of a struggling mantis; he felt like he had to strangle her then, because no way should her pale skin be growing dark from right underneath his fingertips.

Olive-toned face (so beautiful, perhaps even more so than it ever was before) growing taut as he squeezed at her neck, the changed Asuka's now emerald green right eye gradually regained focus, as it now seemingly stared straight into his soul, such that he knew she now was reading every jumbled thought currently running through his frantic mind.

Her now dark hand, bandaged to the palm, clasped his face with such tender delicacy, that the boy thought the touch was exquisite beyond anything he had since experienced in his short, miserable existence; fingers loosing strength, eyes blurring up, the fourteen-year-old then cried like broken, abandoned child he really still could not help but _be_, no matter what kind of grand responsibilities his world had been forcing upon him

"I don't feel good . . ." Shinji heard the girl mutter, before he got softly pushed off of her. Standing up in a rather . . . tentative manner (not unlike that of an insect having freshly shed its old shell), the pink-haired, dark-skinned girl that Asuka Langley Soryu become walked up to the edge of the waves upon unsteady feet, and studied the amber sea with her head hung low. "So, even you got trapped in this, after all." Her voice lowered, in genuine grief seeping with apparent venom. "Oh, little sister, unto what lows will you sink just to stay together with that foolish life form?"

"A-Asuka . . . ?" Shinji walked up towards her in small, uncertain steps (all the while hating the tremor in his voice). "What are you talking about?"

At that, Asuka turned to face him, and her smile was the pacifying smile of a worldly, purposeful adult. "Oh, nothing. I'm merely thinking about how Hikari and Toji would fare bodiless within that LCL sea . . . those were your little friends' names, right?"

Shinji's jaw dropped at the girl's peculiar words (made stranger still by her now mature tone). "Wha . . .?"

"Sorry, my memory has been all jumbled up since the bout with those white beasts. My head still hurts . . ." swooning, she drifted sideways like a frail flower, and was quickly kept from falling by the boy's steadying arms.

"Asuka! Careful . . ." Shinji's words trailed off as the girl – much to his shock - leaned into his embrace with a sinuous deftness that would make even Misato seem wooden in comparison. "Asuka . . ."

"Take good care of me, Shinji," urged the girl now looking up to him, "you're now the only one I've got . . . my only prince."

"Yeah . . ." young head fogged up by arousal (thus unable to focus upon what alarming signals his mind was trying to warn him with), Shinji put on a brave smile as he held the dark girl to his side in a gallant, possessive manner. "Yeah! I'll definitely protect you and keep you safe, Asuka!" Sinking deeper into bliss, the boy could not help but think that had his housemate been so agreeable from the start, then maybe, just maybe he would have had the drive to save the world from destruction like everybody wanted him to do. As it was, he and the girl now were, essentially, the new Adam and Eve left to this people-less world . . . one that he just might survive, with the new and improved Asuka supporting him my his side.

There was an LCL tidal pool accumulated right beside their feet, such that had the boy glanced down upon it, he would no doubt be shocked by what was revealed there.

It was said that mirrors do not lie, and apparently the same applied to an LCL medium's smooth surface

The amber-tinted reflection showed a scrawny youth hugging to himself not any delicate lass, but rather, a white-haired, darkly handsome man garbed immaculately in white, princely attire; towering over the hazy-eyed boy by more than a foot, the adult glanced down upon him like a falcon at a chick.

"I've . . . learned things during Instrumentality, you see," purred "Asuka" at the now bewitched boy. "There's a way to make everybody come back, and into a world vastly superior to what it was before. It involves the finding of 'the Light of the World', a precious power since stolen by a witch and her consort." The hypnotic sweetness of her voice belied her increasingly shrewd words. "It is now up to us to hunt the two down, and take from them the power that is rightfully ours."

"Power . . ." murmured Shinji. Again, he noticed a pale maiden in a school uniform standing some distance off to their side; by her pointing finger (directed at Asuka) and her wide open mouth, she must had been screaming something dire at him; yet, he heard not a word the pale maiden said, nor did he cared . . . as familiar though she might look, he simply could not recall her name, nor whatever past they might have had together. Besides, why heed this stranger, when he had the only woman he had ever wanted right here with him?

Said woman was currently beaming at him while gesturing into the opposite direction, where the Shinji saw a grand cluttering of cathedral-like buildings surrounding a tall tower – pre-Second-Impact style buildings that he had never noticed before in this area.

"Those school buildings look intact, let us seek shelter there. There will be food, and drinks, dorm rooms to sleep in, and with luck, other children similarly off Instrumentality as ourselves; we can recuperate there, gain what allies we need, then act anew. Come, Shinji-kun," Asuka reached a hand out to the boy. "Let us together save this sickly world; together, we shall right mankind's failed evolution, and bring for them a miraculous, eternal, _revolution_."

"Revolution . . ."

"Come, fellow prince."

Taking the dark, elegant hand, the boy with the power to decide humanity's fate let himself get dragged along towards the pristine school buildings existing impossibly amidst the surrounding wreckage, towards the ends of his new world.

**To Be Continued . . . ?**

* * *

**Notes:** I can't believe I'm churning this out while falling behind schedule on both **Seinen Kakumei Utena** and **The 120 Days of Ohtori** (**IRG Forum** project). This fic takes on two notable "mysteries" from NGE and SKU, respectively – Shinji's strangling Asuka at the end of EoE, and the big reveal that Anthy (and thus possibly also Akio) can change both gender and appearance in Ep 23 – and combined them together into the "what if" premise of this crossover work.


	2. Chapter 2

**World End's Messiah**- NGE/SKU, post series both series

All NGE and SKU characters belong to their respective owners.

**Summary: **He felt like he had to strangle her then, because no way should her pale skin be growing dark from right underneath his fingertips.

**Chapter 2**

"Ikari-kun . . ." whimpered Ayanami Rei from where she sprawled wet and shaken upon the mucky shore, as she ruminated on how Ikari Shinji – the only one who mattered to her in this world – just got abducted away from right in front of her wide red eyes.

She was born a clone of Lilith, and had, after the fusion, acquired the full power of Lilith. Yet, power alone meant nothing; power without will to back it up would simply laid unused and wasted. One needed a will to exercise power, and one needed reason to summon such will.

Throughout her different incarnations – all of which she now recalled after Instrumentality – Ikari- kun remained the only one who could give her that reason.

So of course, when that _thing_ just abruptly showed up and approached Ikari-kun in its sinister manner, Rei did not hesitate in stepping up to interfere. A barrier of sorts – something that felt familiar to her senses; that she could not yet identify – materialized in front of her, blocking her advance. Not having the time to properly analyze the barrier's nature, Rei hammered at it with her angel-strength A.T. field. When that did not result in any noticeable effect on the barrier, she reversed tactic and tried neutralizing its physical form with a focused, limited-range Anti A.T. field – one that she took care to not touch Ikari-kun's vulnerable vessel in any way . . . and still, nothing; not a single dent on the being's barrier whatsoever.

A sweet, floral scent – one that made her concentration waver – was starting to fill the air . . . was the "thing" trying to sedate her?

Pulse quickening with dread – an unfamiliar sensation to one such as her – Rei tried to re-establish her psychic link with Ikari-kun . . . and found the signals largely diffused by the barrier raised by the "thing"; more that that, what impressions she could sense from Ikari-kun's end was filled with . . . apathetic non-recognition?

Ikari-kun not recognizing her? Impossible . . . Has the "thing" managed to breach into Ikari-kun's mind already?

It was amidst the violent blasting of Rei's A.T. Field projections (ones that sent the entire shore rumbling up in smoke clouds) that the maddeningly unaffected "thing" made its languid retreat, bringing along with it a blissful-seeming Ikari-kun, who looked happier than she could ever remember him to be.

"Ikari-kun!" She screamed at the boy, even while knowing that the "thing"'s barrier will likely block off her sound. "Don't go with that thing! It is-"

And the barrier – or rather, what she thought was a barrier – turned visible and distinctively metallic; at first glance, Rei thought it now resembled the torso of a vast serpent, that with the jagged pieces resembling large, grayish scales . . .

. . . no, not scales; _swords_; a vast wall of countless, innumerable swords, all stacked against each other in a zigzag, scaly formation . . . no sooner had Rei noticed that, the swords shifted such that their sharp tips now were pointing outwards as spikes on a sea urchin's surface.

All. Pointing. At. Her.

She barely had time to raise her defense as the metallic swarm rushed her in one vast, dragon-like mass; having experienced the "thing"'s uncanny ability to repel her previous attacks, she had her Field arrayed in layers - which turned out to be what saved her in the end.

Upon contact with her A.T. Field, each and every one of the stopped swords morphed instantaneously into the same double-helical shape – one all too familiar to her.

"Spear . . . of Longinus?"

Indeed, the transformed weapons now were as carbon copies of the Artifact of Instrumentality – down to the very fact that their double points appeared to have little trouble in puncturing through an A.T. Field – except for their being downsized to human-scale. Before Rei could dwell further upon the shocking discovery, the mini-spears had since broken through her defense . . .

_. . . witch, witch, accursed witch . . ._ chanted their hate-filled psychic vibes, as they shot towards her now defenseless vessel at point blank range . . .

. . . before waves of some unidentifiable energy rippled through the space around her, disintegrating the innumerable spears back into their original LCL form, such that the entire seashore now was showered under amber rain, drenching her as she slowly collapsed from a feeling utmost alien to her – the feeling other people had called fear.

"Ikari-kun . . ."

Through the mild drizzle of LCL, Rei saw that Ikari-kun was no longer within view. Within that split instant of the spears rushing past her A.T. Field, the "thing" had somehow moved off and settled down to over a mile off into the distance. Extending her senses (shaper than that of all three Magis combined post Instrumentality) she detected to her dismay remnants of the boy's pattern signals now coming warped by what appeared to be inter-dimensional distortion - the warped signals were coming from right inside the "thing".

Like what had happened before, Ikari-kun had again gotten sucked into a pocket dimension inside another powerful being – this one displaying no pattern she capable of detecting, despite the powers it had displayed thus far being so similar to that of the Angels she had since encountered. Was the "thing" a child of another Seed of Life yet unknown? Or, perhaps, another Seed itself, one that should not have been on Earth? Yet . . . each Seed was supposed to be accompanied by only one Spear of Longinus? The vast swarm of hate-radiating spears stabbing through her A.T. Field and was about to skewer her before melting away. . . despite their being of human tool-size, just how did the "thing" managed to manipulate so many of them all at once?

What did it want with Ikari-kun, a human to whom she had given power over all souls on Earth?

Getting back on her feet, Rei was just about to levitate herself up and after the retreated, unknown "thing" now holding Ikari-kun hostage, when a soft, husky sigh sounded from behind her.

"Hurts, doesn't it?"

Shocked by how someone could come up to her from behind without her sensing anything, she whirled around to see what looked to be a dark-skinned girl around her age – one from whom she could not detect any human pattern.

"You surrendered to the boy your control over Instrumentality, such that his will now decides the fate of all mankind," stated the "girl", her voice even with vapid empathy. "Do you know, that once you have given your all to the one you love, then you could only watch on powerless when he is to stray away from you? This timeless mistake has been the ruin of many girls throughout the generations. I know, because I was the first amongst them to fall."

"You . . ." Something occurred to Rei then, and she starting drawing up her A.T. Field. "You are . . . !"

The "girl" – who managed to remain dry and immaculate amidst the brief shower of LCL by way of an invisible barrier cloaking her person – raised a hand in a pacifying gesture. "I mean you no harm, Ayanami Rei; in fact, I just saved you from the Swords of Hate."

"You are related to the thing that ensnared Ikari-kun," stated Rei, now analyzing the "girl" (who obviously knew more about her than she it) by sight (as her senses were useless in detecting whatever pattern the "thing" exudes), and found that it bore much resemblance to the monstrosity that she had just battled.

"I am," the "girl" admitted, readily, "but said relationship no longer hold meaning for me." Smiling, she extended a dark, delicate hand out towards Rei. "You can call me Himemiya Anthy."

Rei did not take the offered hand, and instead continue on drawing up the full might of her A.T. Field. "You even smell like that thing." Just what was this bittersweet scent that managed to cover even the salted blood-smell of the LCL shore? Something akin to that of an earth flora . . . sub rosa?

"Do not fight me, child," the "girl" called Himemiya Anthy eyed her with something between empathy and pity in her eyes. "Before you, before Lilith, I was."

"That, you were, Himemiya Anthy-san."

In a whirl of motion that even Rei had trouble following, Nagisa Kaworu had appeared between her and Himemiya. With his visibly tensed back to her (Was he trying to defend her?), the now uncharacteristically nervous Adam's child reached forth to take the "girl"'s offered hand in a civilly-guarded handshake.

"To what do we owe the honor of a visit from one of the First Ancestral Race?" asked Kaworu, adjusting the large white-and-red visor now covering his upper profile with a free hand. "What do you want with Ikari Shinji-kun?"

**To Be Continued . . . ?**

**NOTES:**

I think an email exchange I've had on **FFML**will clarify some things about what I plan to do with this fic.

- On Mon, 11/19/12, Dot Warner dotchan wrote:

From: Dot Warner dotchan  
Subject: Re: [FFML] [FANFIC][NGE][SKU]World End's Messiah Chapter 1  
To: "The Fanfiction Mailing List" ffml  
Date: Monday, November 19, 2012, 1:33 PM

My only bit of crit is that I wished you'd done more than just rehash the final sequence of the End of Evangelion beat for beat except for the bit you threw in there to connect it with Utena.

Now, as far as the plot premise goes, my opinion is that the theme of SKU is the choice between mindless bliss and complicated reality. By the EoE, Shinji's already made his choice-he no longer wants to be part of the system, but he also couldn't give two shits about being the god of the new world-and Asuka's there either because she's strong willed enough to survive, or Shinji can't quite bring himself to erase her from his life. I think that it's make more sense for Ohtori to exist in the sea of LCL as that metaphorical "Garden of Eden" from which mankind must choose to either remain or leave.

**MY REPLY**

Thanks for the detailed crit, Dot!

Yes, chapter one does read like a rehash of the final sequence of EoE, but I need it there for the built up to Shinji's surreal encounter with Akio-Asuka; plus, I do make implicit what was going on Shinji's mind (via his POV) starting from the beginning of the scene, so hopefully I've inputted something of my own creation (i.e. why he was non-responsive at seeing schoolgirl Rei's image above the LCL sea) into the sequence.

As for Ohtori . . . I think it differs significantly from the LCL sea in that people are not mindlessly blissful - they are tightly controlled by a higher power (Akio) like tools to experience hurt and trauma via crashing of wills (things the LCL sea bunch are dodging), and many of them (like the Student Council) are aware of it. I will spoiler things a bit by saying that this is a story where **all the mysterious elements of SKU shall be explained via canon NGE Wiki Terminology**. World End's Messiah will contain my take on the true nature of "Ohtori Academy", "Akio", and "Anthy" in this Sci-fi setting, why "they" still exist after 3I, and why they do what they now do, The fact that "Ohtori Academy" could now just appear in the ruins of Tokyo-3 should be a pretty big spoiler as to what "it" really is (but no, it's not quite that most obvious possibility as you might immediately think).


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 **(Please keep the C&C coming, people!)

Before setting foot upon the irrationally undamaged campus grounds (an eye-catchingly grand academy he had somehow never noticed around this area before), Shinji had considered a broad range of possibilities on what they might found there: deserted buildings hopefully still fueled by backup generators, food and drinks in defunct cafeterias at risk of staling, the scattered few people – if it was still possible for others to retain individual forms even now – lurking about like weary refugees in this broken world of _his_making . . .

Antiquated music, coming languid and elegant and definitely live (as it lacked the frizzed-out quality of a recording), was not what he had expected to encounter.

"Sounds like string instruments, Shinji-kun," commented Asuka, a wistful glint within her one revealed green eye (It once had another color pre-Instrumentality . . . violet? Amber?). "Cellos, perhaps?"

People playing musical instruments in the wake of Instrumentality . . . upon this now brutally barren Earth? Unthinkable. Yet, the music persisted, drawing the two children past a dark alley framed by regal buildings (likely what their history teacher had called Byzantine architecture) artfully adorned by rose motifs, before they were to enter an elegant courtyard, where some sort of party was apparently going on.

The place was but illuminated by a singular candelabra on a white-draped long table, upon which a feast of apples, grapes, and pears had been laid out, accompanied by champagne glasses and stacks of empty plates. Lanky boys in school uniforms – all wearing a black ring with a magenta rose motif visible even under the veiling of dimness – flitted about each carrying a cardboard with a pointing hand drawn upon it. Musicians (a trio of stick-figured girls) on cellos could be seen at a dark corner, setting the mood for the peculiar scene with their competent (if physically showy) performance.

Nasally male voices, whispery and dark with cynicism, hovered adrift over the cool night air:

"To think that once again, they've rebuilt it back from scratch."

"This is all to accommodate that matchless artifact soon to be acquired by you-know-who."

"The Sword of Instrumentality – the summation of humanity's collective will-power; to think such a blade could even be possible to forge . . ."

"You know the influence that person has on the world, and it took even him fifteen years after the Apocalypse to make happen."

"A-Asuka," Shinji found himself growing more wary by the second, "do you think these people are somehow connected to NERV? How come they seem to know about Instrumentality? And this sword they're talking about-"

"Shinji-kun,"

Turning nervously towards his girl (the one who led him to this eerie place), the boy's eyes popped wide as he did a double take.

Gone were the eye patch and the bandages covering her eye and arm, revealing the now dark-skinned, pink-haired girl to have been completely healed; in fact, she was no longer even in her plugsuit, but rather, a sleek, embroidery-adorned red uniform looking vaguely to what the ring wearing boys wore, only hers was more well-tailored and "elite" in appearance.

"Asuka . . . how'd you . . ."

"It looks like the clothes have transformed on their own," murmured the girl, as she studied her new wardrobe with hooded eyes. It was only when she glanced over at him that her surprise became apparent. "Shinji-kun . . ."

Glancing down upon himself, Shinji was shocked to see that he himself now was wearing something that looked like a white variation of the uniform Asuka now wore.

"Wha-at?"

"White with purity," commented Asuka, her voice exuding not her usual girlish whine, but rather, a dark, _aged_envy; it vanished in an instant, to be replaced by a warm, indulgent grin. "How princely this looks on you, Shinji-kun."

"Asuka . . ."

"Shinji-sama? Ikari . . . Shinji-sama?"

Sometime during their talking, the trio of girl musicians had since ceased their playing, and had now come up to them in exuberant flutters of puffy sleeves and short shirts. With eager hands, they pawed at him; with ravenous mouths, they exclaimed his praises:

"Welcome to Ohtori Academy, Ikari Shinji-sama!"

"It's really you, the one who piloted the Evangelion against the monsters . . . the one to have kept this Academy intact through the worst of the attacks!"

"Without this Academy as sanctuary, we'd all get sucked into that white giant like all those poor people from the outside!"

"It's because of your heroic determination that we've all been kept safe!"

"You're truly the Prince of the World – our _Messiah_!"

"How-Why-Wha . . .?" To say that Shinji was overwhelmed by the girls' adoration would be an understatement. It had been a while since he had been brought here to Tokyo-3. While everyone at school appeared mildly interested in his status as an Eva Pilot (with Kensuke being the sole enthusiastic among the lot), the boy had never experienced anything close to this fanatical worship he was currently getting from the females here. Sure, Kaworu had told him that he was not aware of his own popularity, but this . . .

"Quite the lady's man, Shinji-kun," drawled Asuka, crossing her arms and giving the boy a sardonic smile; said boy was relieved to see only good-natured humor within the girl's glinting eyes, instead of that explosive jealousy he so often noticed seething beneath.

"Shinji-sama is our prince!" squealed the girls, now dramatic to the point of being theatrical. "Shinji Ouji-sama!"

"Oh, I . . ." feeling Asuka's slim arm slipping around his (in a demure manner that made him conscious of the take-charge male role he as a man should play in front of the ladies) Shinji straightened his back and smiled back at the star-struck females. "Thank you; I did what I could, for umm . . . the world!" Clumsy though his delivery might be, the girls ate it right up.

"How brave ~"

"How cool ~"

"How valiant ~"

It would have been easy for Shinji to lose himself completely in the admiration of others - that very thing that kept him in constant craving through life and Instrumentality. Yet, even while heady with teenage male pride, the boy could not help but overhear the boys' conversation continuing on in the party's background, and thus remained conscious of the increasingly cryptic turn it now took:

"To think the classic role of the heroic revolutionary shall now be filled by that weak-minded child."

"Let's not forget: this child is now sheath to the accumulated might of all mankind."

"A weak-minded sheath will likely suit you-know-who's purpose better than those willful ones that came before."

"Let's see how it all goes down this time around."

"_IKARI-KUN!_"

The shrill, desperate child's cry shocked Shinji out of the haze currently clouding his perceptions, allowing for him to finally see past the clamoring girls, past the party, to discover the little blond boy calling for his attention from some distance away. The child was standing under a focused ray of light spearing down from the dark heights above; with his ruffled clothes and heaving chest, he looked like he had just been through some rough struggle prior to showing up.

Shinji had no idea what to make of this.

"Err . . . you . . . ?"

"Err NOTHING!" Roared the boy (with such heated agitation, he temporarily reminded Shinji of how Asuka was like before she somehow got changed by Instrumentality), foaming slightly at the corners of his mouth. "Just run, kid! Escape from the Ends of the World while you still can! Or, you're gonna end up like me . . . or worse, like _them_!" He pointed a finger at the partying bunch, still moving the "pointing hand" cardboards about (seemingly) randomly as they murmured on amongst themselves.

_Ends of the World?_"Um . . . I think your're the one who're a kid-"

"I'm goddamned _older_ than you, you bio-robo piloting _brat_!" snapped the child. "This _hell_is what keeps me looking like this even after fifteen years went by!" Seemingly understanding how Shinji would not easily take his words to heart, the strange child tore at his matted blond locks, before abruptly widening his eyes as he then pointed at the trio now hanging around Shinji. "The girls! Look at their faces! Can you even see what they look like?!"

The boy's words impacted Shinji like a splash of cold water. All the while, he had simply attributed the shadowy appearances of the girls – along with those of the boys – as their being outdoor in the night. But while the boys were indeed milling about some distance away, the three girls were right in his face - he could not, no matter how much he squinted his eyes, make out any distinctive features on their faces. At all.

Jolting backwards in fright, Shinji again turned back towards Asuka, whose features he could clearly make out despite her dark skin; Asuka, who was now giving him a quizzical smile – like she was subtly reminding him of how he was making a scene in front of admiring strangers, in public.

"A-Asuka, these people-"

"Ssssh . . . get a hold of yourself, Shinji-kun," cooed Asuka, as if the faceless girls looked normal – as if the blond boy now warning him never even existed. "I know you're not used to clamoring fans, but these girls here are merely trying to show you their appreciation." Her voice gained a velvety edge. "There's no need to get scared."

"Ikari-kun," persisted the blond boy, who also appeared oblivious to Asuka's presence, "we're right in the monster's stomach like Jonah from the Bible! You've just gotten swallowed up, you've yet to get corroded away by the place's venom! Stay any longer, and you could become integrated into its fresh and blood like these goons, or worse, cursed to eternal stagnation like me! This mustn't happen to you – not when mankind's fate is now in you hands! For God's sake, just flee this so-call-Academy and don't look back-" And his voice – along with the ray of light illuminating him – got cut off with violent abruptness, as the boy then disappeared as if he was never there in the first place.

"Ah . . . Ah!" Pointing a shaky hand after where the boy had vanished, Shinji again turned towards Asuka (for help, for guidance, for someone to tell him what to do), but was then kept silent by what he saw before he could even open his mouth.

The girl had since moved away from his side, and was, by now, walking up along a straight path that was fenced in from sides by the "pointing hand" cardboards – all standing upright on their thin edges, as if upheld up by invisible forces. Stopping in front of the entrance to the stone building facing the courtyard, she turned towards the metal plate nailed beside the arched doorway, and brushed her slim, dark fingertips over its dull surface.

On the plate was written the following title - "Ikari Memorial Hall".

One of the two entrance doors opened seemingly on its own, revealing the building's ominously dark interior; when Asuka then stepped unhesitant-ly into the thick, clouding shadows simmering within, Shinji had no choice but to follow her, regardless of the trepidations now eating at his nerves.

* * *

Against each other they stood upon the barren shore – two albinos facing one dark-skinned entity, with neither side showing signs of backing down.

"I seek only an alliance with Lilith's descendants," insisted Anthy, lady-like mannerism firmly upheld in spite of subtle evidences of growing frustration, "hopefully through the correspondence of the Seeds of Life. I need to fight my brother, who now exists as their ultimate adversary." She punctuated her point by gesturing at "Ohtori Academy", looking pristine from where it now perched upon a small mountain of debris close to the shoreline. "Do you want to continue tolerating his existence here? Can you afford to do so?"

"And why would you of the First Ancestral Race wish to fight your own flesh and blood? For the Lilins, whose well-being you care nothing for?" asked the visor-wearing Kaworu, the down-turned corners of his lips clearly displaying his skepticism over Anthy's words. "You, more than powerful enough to crumble any human effort, had remained passive while an elite few condemned the entire world to this failed evolution. Do you now try to convince us that you're willing to side with such low lives against even your own kin?" From behind the pale angel's back, Rei watched the dark-featured entity with something between outright distrust and reserved uncertainty.

"Without breaking the shell, the chick will die without being born," murmured Anthy, in the wistful tone of one recalling something from an ancient past, before her voice gained the strength of certainty. "Without experiencing the loss of physical form, people can never think beyond the the flesh. Seele's Instrumentality, while flawed by human selfishness and limitations, still helped in breaking the world's shell for its people." She swept an arm across the general direction of the ripping waves of LCL. "This amber sea could be as a transient cocoon before humanity is to rise again upon new wings, so long as-"

"So long as they turn to either you or your brother to complete their evolution," Kaworu cut her off, "thus rendering all people reliant upon your godly good grace for their continual survival."

Anthy shook her head, her long locks rippling as serpents about her delicate figure. "Not my good grace; the _Calyx's_good grace, which even the two of you could trust."

Both albinos jolted in shock at her statement.

"The Calyx . . ." Rei's red eyes widened in wonder, as her guardedness started to lessen. "Could it be . . . are you the one who . . .?"

"The humans don't know, but the two of you should've sensed her presence since long ago – the Heavenly Calyx safe-keeping the souls of all those deceased since the Apocalypse . . . an event coinciding with what the humans had termed the Second Impact."

"The Calyx . . ." Kaworu seemed to be mulling Anthy's words over in his head. "Do you have proof of your alliance with her?"

Reaching into the pocket of her pink dress, Anthy produced a ring – one bearing a magenta rose-motif – and held it up for the pale youth's inspection.

"You speak the truth." Tensed lips slowly relaxing, Kaworu let out a soft sigh as he then removed his visor, revealing warm, smiling eyes. "If you're trying what I think you're trying with the Calyx, then I suppose I can understand why you would have to wait until now before stepping in and aiding the Lilins." He looked over a shoulder at Rei. "It's okay now – she's on our side, and that of the Lilins."

Awkwardly stepping out from behind Adam's child, the current embodiment of Lilith stepped up towards the First Ancestral Entity, and engaged her in a civil handshake.

"I'm Rei."

"Rei," Anthy took the girl's cool hand in both of hers. "Rei and Kaworu, Seeds of Life given life; more than any other in this world, the two of you would surely understand the reason behind our wanting to help the humans."

"For friendship," said Rei, earnest as a newborn.

"For love," said Kaworu, mature as a grown up.

Anthy kept her steady, penetrating gaze on the two. "The one you both cherish, the young Messiah with power over all human souls, is being bewitched by the Ends of the World as we speak; if we're to rescue the Lilin Race from sure damnation, we have to act fast. Will the two of you help me help humanity, if only just for the sake of those you've come to love in your human incarnations?" To that, both Seeds of Life nodded firmly in affirmation; Anthy's smile broadened as a blooming summer's rose.

"Then, first thing first . . ." raising a delicate hand, the First Ancestral Entity pointed it daintily at what appeared to be a massive, caved in area opening up the ruin-filled landscape in the distance, and stretched out her fingers in a dark, delicate fan . . .

. . . and the caved-in area quickly came to be "refilled", cluttering up with man-made buildings and structures that would look familiar to anyone who were from around the area; even the charred trees covering the surrounding hills now were again livening up like coral polyps under water, as Tokyo-3 again stood tall as if time itself had been turned back by miraculous means. Even the serious "light pollution" surrounding the city was back – a sign that electricity was again up and running.

"Reversal of State," murmured Kaworu as if in remembered pain, "that First Ancestral technique Keel Lorenz had repeatedly failed in replicating via human science, thus affirming his insistence with rebirth through Instrumentality." His voice dropped a further notch. "Had I been able to better control the urge to rejoin . . ."

"This is as much as I could afford to do for the moment," gasped Anthy, wiping sweat off her creased brows in apparent exertion. "The Fortress should be completely operational by now, that with its multiple backup generators all working anew." She then turned towards the albino girl, who watched all this with awe. "Rei, if you could resurrect Nerv's integral staff? I'm talking about the portion who will aid instead of hinder our efforts."

Accepting Anthy's crisp order with ease (as if it was from coming from Major Katsuragi herself), Rei turned to face the vast LCL Sea lapping at the shore, and focused.

**To Be Continued . . . ?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 **(please C&C ~)

She was a part of the world, and the world a part of her. Their room was a part of the world, and she a part of the room. She was happy in their room, and all was right with her world. He was with her in their room, and all was right with her world. They were copulating in their room, and all was right—

"No."

The cutting word he voiced shattered the illusion of contentment, of ecstasy, leaving her cold and in fear. They were no longer conjoined; he had since pulled away.

"We cannot stay," he said, looking, dressed, determined, and _sad-eyed_; it was an expression she feared seeing upon him – as it always meant they were about to part.

"W-Why?" she asked/demanded/pleaded. "Haven't you had enough of what's out there?" Standing legs apart, she flaunted her nakedness at him in artless desperation. "This . . . isn't this enough to make you stay?"

"She told me, that the world is at risk of dying again; our will to return is being stolen away as we speak, but she can help us while she still can." Even as he spoke, the room had begun to dim, he had begun to leave; her world had begun to crumble. "We must go back, and be the ones to help the boy – and through him, everyone. That's she said."

"The boy . . ." her heart welled with guilt at remembering the broken child she had made bear the world's cross, before suspicion was to overtake her thoughts. "Who is this 'she'?"

"A calyx to god's flower," now completely obscured by darkness, his increasingly distant voice came soft with revere, "a prince to our world."

"A . . . prince?"

"Katsuragi . . . Katsuragi . . ."

The young-girlish voice, defused as if coming through a different medium, seeped into this darkened space that suddenly seemed a whole lot smaller; already she could feel the edges of its confines – cold, flat, wooden . . .

"What's going on?" she asked, confused and frightened. "Who are you?"

"Katsuragi, I'm here to save you."

"Save me? But you can't save me . . . you're not Ka-"

"I'm here to bring you back."

" . . . back?"

"Back where you came from, where they're all now waiting. Himemiya is also there, ready to guide you all along through the things to come."

"Hime . . . miya?"

"My friend; I used to think of her as the flower to my calyx, someone I need to protect . . . but now I understand – she was the one who had been protecting me all along."

With a creaking sound, the lid of her current container – which she only now realized to have been a coffin – started to open, revealing a light so brilliant, it seemed to engulf the beholder in life; amidst this light was a pale hand donning a shiny a rose motif ring, and a pink-haired teenage girl visibly straining to keep the lid open.

"You . . ." She knew the girl was a stranger to her; yet, she knew her all the same. "You're . . ."

"Katsuragi-san . . ." gasped the pink-haired girl in apparent exertion, "Hurry . . . take my hand!" Numerous of chalk-white, albino hands appeared from beyond the trembling coffin lid then, helping to keep it open as the girl then hurriedly reached a free hand into the coffin towards her; yet she recoiled in uncertainty.

"Wait . . . what about him? Where-"

"The outside," the strange girl, fighting to keep the coffin lid open with help of the albino hands, raised her voice in strained urgency, "is the only place where we can truly meet others. So, don't be afraid of this world where you'll meet everyone for real; take my hand, _**Katsuragi Misato!**_"

Compelled by the call, the woman reached up to take the offered hand; the girl smiled, she wept.

Crack!

Immediately upon contact with the girl, the woman found her world her coffin her shell all exploding outwards, releasing her surrounds her confines her very being into the vast unknown existing beyond the immediate _her_. An amber-colored medium (so much like spilled glair) was splashing against her skin her mouth her eyes her nose, and she found herself submerged within its breathable taste and scent-

". . .tsurgai-san, it's okay! This is just LCL!"

"Yes! Even the Major's managed to come back!"

"Then, that leaves only Sempai, the Commander, and the Voice Commander still missing . . ."

At hearing those very familiar, very _real_voices, Katsuragi Misato's haze-covered mind snapped back into razor-sharp clarity, as the Nerv Major practically dived out of the LCL medium and onto the solid bank, where she was then encased by the group hug consisting of the trio of main computer technicians - Hyuga Matoko, Aoba Shigeru,and Ibuki Maya – who had been her allies against the Angels (the "18th" included) unto the very end.

"You guys . . . !" Misato hugged them back with fervent vigor, embracing their sticky clothes and skin as she savored their solid forms (all the while relieved by her own gratuitously clothed state). While they had briefly interacted as parts of the collective whole during Instrumentality, they all were but fragmented ghosts back then. This, this physical interaction with all of them existing as individual wholes; this was _real_. Looking around, she saw a number of familiar faces: all from Nerv, all showing wide-eyed wonder at being re-materialized underneath this dark world shored in by LCL . . .

. . . wait.

"The Terminal . . . Dogma?" exclaimed the Nerv Major in disbelief, noting the massive, honeycomb structures making up the massive interior space's confines. "But . . . during Instrumentality . . . I thought that Nerv HQ . . . no, I know – the entire Egg making up the GeoFront got elevated into space; everything got destroyed in the end!" Disengaging herself from the group hug, she now studied the vast "room" in disbelief. "This shouldn't be possible . . ."

"Major, this is . . . " Hyuga then trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words. "That's . . ."

"Power in sufficient quantities can make possible the impossible."

The cultured female voice drew Misato's frantic gaze towards a modestly dark-featured teenage girl, one whose immaculate appearance made her stand out from among the LCL-drenched Nerv Crew gathered about; that, and she had both Rei and that _Nagisa_boy franking her on either sides.

"Rei," Misato observed that unfamiliar sense of "gravity" now apparent behind the girl's red eyes. "are you . . .?"

"I am now the first, the second, and the third, all within one," replied the albino girl, knowing the Major would know what she was talking about. "that, and I've inherited the might of Lilith."

"And I, the might of Adam," the Nagisa boy – now holding a large visor in his pale hand – piped up with his broad grin, "with Instrumentality having passed, I no longer pose any threat to the Lilin Race's continual survival. And this," the boy gestured at the poised, dark-skinned girl beside him, "is the last survivor of the First Ancestral Race, who was the one with power enough to reassemble Lilith's smashed Egg. She is here to seek alliance with the Lilin Race."

"First Ancestral . . . Race?" asked Misato, feeling somewhat unnerved under the "girl's" benign yet penetrating gaze; Maya leaned in from the side to whisper quickly in her ear.

"Nagisa Kaworu-kun told us they were the first extraterrestrial intelligence who created both Adam and Lilith, along with the many Seeds of Life planted throughout the many planets of the Milky Way Galaxy."

"By their accounts, the Lilin Elites of Seele believed the First Ancestral Race had been wiped out since ancient times," supplied Kaworu, clearly having heard Maya, as he used the visor like it was a tablet. "To think Seele never even suspected that we have one right here on Earth all along . . ." he glanced up and at the "First Ancestral Entity", "your scope of power is truly godlike, Himemiya-san."

"Hime . . . miya?" Misato jolted at the name. "You're _Himemiya?!_"

Smiling primly, the dark-skinned girl said to be an alien stepped daintily up towards the Major.

"Himemiya Anthy," she offered her hand to the woman, "pleased to meet you."

"Himemiya . . . san," Misato took the delicate, silken hand in a shaky handshake, "You, you're the flower to that girl's calyx."

"Utena had made contact with you from within the collective consciousness, just like she had done for everyone brought back into existence by Ayanami Rei." Deep-set green eyes welling with unshed tears, Himemiya's smile wavered as she started getting choked up. "Did you see her as the noble child she was fifteen years ago? Wasn't she radiant beyond words?"

"Utena . . ." Misato licked her dried-lips while gingerly disengaging herself from the handshake. "Is she also a member of your . . . race?" Himemiya's expression dimmed up at the question.

"The Calyx was born a human by the name of Tenjou Utena," supplied Rei in her quiet voice, "she went through a change around the time of the Second Impact, and has since existed as something I cannot properly describe with words." Her words incited a mildly exasperated sigh from Kaworu.

"That 'something' has been the most valuable, most _revolutionary_existence to this planet for the past fifteen years, and is the only hope for the planet's revival," said the Angel, catching the Major's gaze as he gestured at behind her.

Turning around, Misato finally got her first look at the other side of this massive interior space, and found herself stunned beyond words.

The giant crucifix where Lilith was nailed against was no more, replaced by a vast, stark marble strip taped against the tall, cell-covered wall, where many of the gigantic hexagonal structures now were displaying glowing rose motifs. Against this marble backdrop bloomed a colossal white rose – one adorned with white petals so fluorescent, it appeared to be crafted from light itself - sprouting out from the LCL lake. Beneath the rose's radiant corolla was the emerald green calyx, and-

"Oh my god . . ." Misato gasped as she finally got a good look at the giant rose's calyx, where a lanky, feminine figure could be seen encased within the semi-lucent articulation like an insect inside amber. "That's . . ."

"That is Utena, as she is now," said Himemiya, her voice wistfully soft. "Since the Absolute Destiny Apocalypse, which fatefully coincided with Adam's explosion, Utena has been offering up her very self to sustain this most sacred flower - the Rose of Light. This is the physical manifestation of the Light of the World – an accumulation of the various First Ancestral powers left behind by my long-perished race; By Utena's will, this power has been used to sustain the many souls deceased throughout the past fifteen years, up until Seele's Lilith-based Impact took control of humanity. The Rose of Light has now taken physical form to bear for this planet its fruit of rebirth; it can only grow here in the glair of Lilith's Egg, thus why I've reversed this entire area back into its former state, with modifications where necessary. Katsuragi-san," voice firming up, she turned solemnly towards Misato, "in the immediate future, the last surviving First Ancestral Entity will start attacking this place trying to seize the Rose for his own selfish use. The Seeds have since agreed to lend me their powers to defend the Rose against the threat; I ask that you, as the highest-ranking remaining officer of Nerv, lead this organization to fight the enemy along our side, so you all may truly save the world this time."

"But we . . ." glancing quickly around, Misato saw her colleagues all looking just as uncertain as she herself felt right now, "okay; a lot of us had died terribly fighting for a cause that we thought was noble, but instead ended up screwing the world over. And here you show up telling us to fight again . . . wait," something occurred to her then. "Did you say the enemy is . . .? I thought _you_are the last survivor of the First Ancestral Race?"

Himemiya's mouth tensed into a flat, taunt line. "Unlike humans, individual units of our race come in pairs of opposite-gender siblings, each sharing half of the single whole. It is my brother – my other half – who now exists as mankind's final adversary, and it is he who I now must destroy," her eyes upon Utena – encased within the Rose's Calyx – were narrowed with determination, "at any cost."

**To Be Continued . . . ?**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

* * *

"This . . . is Nerv HQ now?"

"Yes."

"Himemiya-san . . . when you said you've somehow resurrected Nerv HQ 'with modifications where necessary', I had no idea that you meant having remodeled like the entire place."

"It is in our race's nature to contort our places of dwelling around ourselves, Commander Katsuragi."

Looking over the Command Center – now resembling some fairytale castle set existing jarringly against the pre-existing hi-tech LED screens – Misato had to slowly inhale to keep calm. This Himemiya alien was just so self-centered in her takeover approach – to the exclusion of any input from the original Nerv staff, whom she appeared to value as little more than convenient pawns; the way she said "Commander" also pricked at Misato's sensitivity, much like spruce spines against bare skin . . .

" . . . not much of a team player, are you?"

"I never have been."

Somehow, Misato found Himemiya's softly uttered reply to be more melancholic than arrogant. To be fair, this one was much less annoying than those many power players (a.k.a. Seele puppets) she had to deal with throughout her military career; the "girl" was apparently this goddess-like First Ancestral Entity, and that in itself deserved respect from a mere human such as herself.

Then again, that did not mean she herself – as the current Commander – should (or could) keep her concerns silent.

"Still, to go so far as to replace the Magis . . ."

"All data from the Magis has since been incorporated into the Shadows – it's the only system on this planet equipped to deal with what we're up against."

"But, to replace a trio set with a duo . . ."

/"Oh, you don't have to worry about us being inferior by number, Commander Madam-sama!"/

The high, girlish squeal suddenly blasting out from the workstation's speaker sent Misato jolting. Quickly glancing down upon the computer's re-ignited screen, the woman saw two girlish silhouettes in puffy sleeves and short skirts waving jauntily up and at her.

/"You know what they say – where there are E-ko and F-ko, there shall be Many-kos!"/

/"Nobody knows about any of that in this continuity, F-ko."/

/"R-Right! Still, we got more personality than all three aspects of that old hag crammed together into the same OS, so E-ko and F-ko for the win!"/

/"Is it really wise to say 'old hag' in front of a woman nearing the Big Three O?"/

/"Err . . ."/

". . . forget what I said," grumbled the "woman nearing the Big Three O" while flipping off the mini-speaker, as she then took a moment to better study the changes done to the colossal Command Room – from the jagged castle walls of framing the Command Stations, the stained glass frames outlining the display screens, down to the new "bisected-rose motif" Nerv logo, with the text "SMASH THE WORLD'S SHELL, FOR THE REVOLUTION OF THE WORLD." superimposed above an inverted apple in the background . . .

"I still can't believe this is the same place I've been working at for all this time," she mused in genuine bewilderment. "Sure, I know all this has been rebuilt from scratch – can't even begin to imagine how you're doing this – but being here now . . . it felt like the entire structure here is a part of your body, and that we're all being held captive inside you . . ." Her voice trailed off at seeing what appeared to be a mouse-sized monkey playfully rolling a sizable gastropod shell around the workstation's table top. "Oh . . ."

"This is Chu-Chu," introduced Himemiya, vapid expression warming up as she petted the diminutive creature on its head, "he has been my sole companion for a very long time."

"I've no idea you're into exotic pets too . . ." smiling in spite of herself, Misato (who missed her own penguin pet dearly) reached out to pet the monkey's soft pelt, "Hey, Chu-Chu . . ."

Just then, sharp claws shot out from the large shell Chu-Chu had been playing with all along, startling the woman into quickly retracting her hand; looking shocked itself, the furry creature quickly grabbed onto a pen, and started "dueling" the emerged mini-beast under her incredulous gaze.

"Is that a . . . ?"

"Chu-Chu makes the most unique friends," said Himemiya, as she smoothly picked up the shell-inhabiting creature, and placed it back into one of the many small plastic tanks stacked at a corner of her workstation; Chu-Chu, for its part, quickly scurried off the desk and out of sight.

"Umm . . . is it okay to let Chu-Chu run free?" asked Misato, worried.

"Oh, Chu-Chu knows his way back to me," assured Himemiya. "Being from the pre-impact era, are you familiar with the hermit crab, Commander?"

"Eh?"

"Once it inhabits a shell, the crab can move it about as an extension of itself. Certain species can also form symbiotic relationships with other life forms, like anemones-"

"Just like how it is between you and us, now." Misato, who was indeed familiar with the once-common marine crustacean, immediately understood what was really being said. "With you being the crab, Lilith's Egg being your shell, and all of us the anemones you've picked up to arrange and maneuver as your defensive weapons."

"Different species engage in symbiosis for mutual benefits," said Himemiya, gently addressing the underlying disgruntlement evident in the new Nerv Commander's words. "The Rose of Light is humanity's . . . no, this planet's final hope of revival. It is in our common interest to guard it against my brother's greed."

"So what actually happens if your brother get his hands on the Rose?" questioned Misato, trying to pry out as much info as possible now that she had displayed her untrusting stance. "Will it be like an annihilation thing . . . like a Fourth Impact?"

Himemiya shook her head. "No, the seed-based life forms will all still live – eternally even; only now they would be living as extensions of my brother, and will be made to carry out his will as living tools." Her steady, even gaze remained upon Misato, who eventually looked away.

"Fair," admitted the Commander, grudgingly. "But I still don't see how much we, the Nerv staff, could help. Even though most of us here comes from a military background, Nerv HQ is not technically a military base; most importantly, there are no longer any Evas around for us to use as defense weapon should your brother come attacking."

"The children of Adam have genetic patterns sharing a 99.89% similarity to that of the Lilims; the same applies to the Evangelions."

Misato blinked at the baffling statement. ". . . and?"

Himemiya exhaled in a such way that almost suggested exasperation. "We shall have Evas, when Evas are to be needed." Her expression then darkened. "It should be soon: I'm plenty certain that my brother has since gotten his own set of weapons prepared."

Knowing that she was unlikely to get any less opaque explanation from the alien, Misato decided to change topics.

"About the change of Nerv HQ Chief Scientist . . ."

"Utena had tried contacting Akagi-san with the Seed's help – she did not appear to have heeded the call. That is why I've brought in Professor Nemuro, who is already familiar with the many modifications I've since made to Nerv HQ, to fill the position; Inspector Chida, who had worked with and is familiar with Professor Nemuro, is fitting as his consultant."

Glancing down from their elevated tower, Misato observed how Nemuro – an icily fine-featured young gent – was generating this aloof, alienating aura from where he worked no-nonsense-ly at his station; Chida – an elegant gamine – was going back and forth between the Professor and the (reasonably on edge) computer technicians, playing the role of "go-between" with apparent competence and grace.

Craptastic interpersonal skills aside, the First Ancestral chick knew how to run things.

"So, Himemiya-san . . . you know who has or hasn't been contacted by Tenjou-san to come back?"

"I know what Utena allows me to know."

"Then . . ." Misato had to consciously keep her voice steady as she finally asked the one question that had been haunting her since her return, "do you know if Kaji Ryoji, who worked for Nerv, also got . . . contacted?" What followed was one heart-stopping-ly long moment, during which the woman of military background was almost reduced to hysteria, before Himemiya mercifully answered her question.

"He has."

Hope soared in the woman's thumping heart. "Then . . ."

"The people who returned here at Nerv all did so by their own decision," stated Himemiya. "There are those who might decide to take other paths after the contact."

"But Kaji has returned to this world," persisted Misato, a pleading tone evident in her voice. " . . . right?"

Himemiya's expression was one of gentle empathy. "After the contact, neither Rei nor Utena could again detect his presence from within the collective consciousness; that is the best answer I can give you for the moment."

"But-"

Just then, sirens began going off. Warning signs started flashing upon the various screens across the control room, as the Shadows' girlish voices blasted out through the speakers:

/"Warning! Warning!"/

/"Extremely strong wave of magic detected from the general direction of Ohtori Academy, which has somehow appeared within the region right after the Third Impact!"/

The bottom holographic screen turned on to display the current Ohtori Academy campus, now standing tall and immaculate beside the night-cloaked LCL shore. Up front, another LED screen showed a black and white photo of what looked like a darkly handsome man – one clearly related to Himemiya – with his various stats clearly printed in magenta:

**Title:** The Ends of the World  
**Name:** Ohtori Akio (was Himemiya Akio (was Dios))  
**Age:** N/A  
**Sibling/Other half:** Himemiya Anthy  
**Notable Abilities:** Control over Time. Control over Reality. Control over all Life Forms and Objects (including Machineries). Control over the World's Hatred. Control over . . . see "Subsection" on Right-hand Screen for a complete listing  
**Trump Card:** Ikari Shinji, the one whose will dominates that of the Collective Consciousness.  
Estimated Odds of beating Anthy in upcoming Power Struggle: 50/50

/"Akio-san is as beautiful as he is dangerous – just like his sister!"/

/"Speaking of which, I wonder just how did he move like an entire school campus all the way to beside Tokyo-3 from the old Houou City? I mean, even if he could lift the buildings and the pavements . . . what about the underground infrastructure?"/

/"Ah, don't you know? That's why it's called magic!"/

/"I wonder, I woooonder-"/

"Shadows," Nemuro cut the girlish musings off with his own crisp tenor, now coming through the comm link for all to hear, "report specifics regarding this magic currently detected."

/"H-Hai!"/ The Shadows' high string voices actually turned somber with cautious respect. /"Magic confirmed to be powered upon First Ancestral life energies."/

"Deeper. Go deeper."

/"Magic appeared to be one that brings about genetic pattern modification."/

"Probability of the Ends of the World using such magic to create bio weapons capable of endangering Nerv HQ?"

/"Over 95 percent."/

"Report Patterns detected."

/"The entire Ohtori Academy campus exudes Pattern Red – indication of its current possessor exerting his First Ancestral life force to power his magic. Our sensors also picked up on a rapidly developing Sepia Pattern from this certain building within the campus . . ."/

"Zoom in on the exact building where Pattern Sepia is detected – pierce through the A.T. layers with Dios' Light if necessary."

/"Roger!"/

High above the gathered staff – most of them were now gawking at the Professor's easy control over the seemingly capricious Shadow System – Misato mulled over the fresh-revealed info with a disconcerted frown.

"Pattern Sepia . . . just like when Shinji-kun got salvaged from out of Unit 01's entry plug."

"Ikari Shinji-kun is likely undergoing . . . something at this very moment," supplied Himemiya, somewhat too vapidly. "It chills my heart to think of the possible designs my brother might have in store for the boy – one who controls the will of all those within the collective consciousness even now . . ."

"Himemiya-san," snapping under the stress of worry, Misato finally decided she had had enough of the alien's manipulative ways, "you know everything about what we're up against, while we of Nerv do not. So, if you got useful tactics to offer, please don't be convoluted in your presentation and just. Be. Direct."

"I understand," smiled the alien at her; somewhat demurely, even. "Then, Commander Katsuragi . . . would you mind going through genetic pattern modifications, so Nerv can again have a Eva to use?"

* * *

**To Be Continued . . . ?**

**Notes:** Much thanks to DuncanR, Gob Hobblin, and Lurv for having given fic-enhancing pointers to better this work. Hectic real life aside, I do hope I can continue this to completion (crossing fingers here).


End file.
